by J. T. Cross
Luc put Kelly down and decided it might be a good time for them all to rest before they entered the forest. What he had planned for them was not going to be easy. He sat down on the tree trunk a few feet from Chuck.
He was about to take his backpack off when the top of the trunk between them exploded, sending chunks of wood flying up into his face.
Before anyone else reacted, Luc was on his feet, picking up Kelly with one arm and grabbing Stuart’s hand with the other as the sharp report of a rifle echoed around them.
“Run! Everybody into the forest,” he yelled as he dragged Stuart behind him.
He looked back as he entered the trees and saw Christie right behind him, followed by Chuck and Kate. “Follow me,” he yelled as he let go of Stuart’s hand.
“Where the hell was he?” Chuck asked as he ran behind Luc.
“I don’t know. But he’s obviously got a rifle with a powerful scope. Fortunately, he didn’t have it sighted in yet. We gotta try and lose him.”
As he ran with Kelly, he kept his eyes open for a good spot to try and hide their tracks. After several minutes of running, he found one.
“Everybody stop,” he said loudly.
He walked over to Chuck and handed Kelly to him. He squatted down. “Put her up on my shoulders.”
Chuck picked her up and set her down on top of his backpack with her legs dangling over his shoulders. Luc stood back up and scanned the area.
All around them were trees whose roots had broken through the surface and beyond that was a rocky area.
“Everybody, we have to try to hide our tracks. Watch where I put my feet and do the same,” he said as he stepped up onto one of the roots. He walked about ten feet and then stopped and turned around.
“You go next, Christie,” he said.
She stepped up on the thick roots, took a few seconds to get her balance then walked over to him. Stuart went next and had no problems. Finally, Kate and Chuck walked across the gnarled roots and joined him.
“We’re going to do that until we get to the rocks over there,” he said pointing to the outcropping of rocks he had seen in the distance.
He moved ahead of them again, balancing on the roots carefully as he is made his way to the rocks. He waited there for the others to join him.
“This is kind of fun, Dad,” Stuart said.
“Just make sure you don’t touch the ground with your feet,” Luc said.
For the next fifty yards, they worked their way across the rocky patch until they hit another area with roots. Once again, Luc carefully led them across the top of the roots until they hit another rocky area.
Having traveled some distance to the west, Luc began leading them back to the south, carefully choosing paths with lots of roots and rocks.
When they had finally reached the edge of the forest, Luc set Kelly down, took off his backpack, and pulled out the binoculars. He scanned the trees around them until he found a tall one that looked like it would be easy to climb.
He looped the binoculars’ strap around his neck, quickly located the tree, and began climbing. He slowly worked his way up until he had a clear view of the rocky barren area to the southeast. He gazed through the binoculars and immediately saw what he was looking for.
Victor was moving in the distance, methodically following their tracks. He watched him for several minutes until he came to the fallen tree that he and Chuck had been sitting on when Victor had fired upon them.
He watched him standing there. Go on in. Take the bait, thought Luc. He watched Victor pull out a bottle of water. He drank it down then pulled something else out. As Luc watched closely, it appeared Victor was loading several shells into the side of his rifle.
He thinks he’s going in for the kill, thought Luc.
Victor slung his rifle over his shoulder.
Follow us in, Luc thought, as he watched Victor look east and west along the edge of the forest right before he stepped into the trees and disappeared.
Luc climbed back down as quickly as he could and went back to the others.
“Did you see anything,” asked Christie with a worried look.
“I saw Victor entering the forest.”
“Oh, my God,” she said and began to cry.
“It’s gonna be okay, Mom. Dad won’t let him hurt us,” Stuart said as he hugged her.
“That’s right. Not over my dead body,” Luc said.
Christie wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at Luc. “Thanks,” she said in a shaky voice.
“It’s time for us to move out. There’s no telling how long he’ll search for footprints until he realizes he’s been had. Once he realizes it, he’ll probably be back out to the rocky area moving west as fast as he can.”
Luc picked up Kelly.
“Daddy, I want to go home,” she said as she laid her head against his chest.
“We’ll be home soon, sweetie,” Luc said then turned to speak to the others. “We’re going to have to move fast while we have the advantage.”
Luc led them out of the forest back into the barren area where they began making good progress. Throughout the afternoon, he led them toward the mountain that he had pointed out earlier in the day. By six that evening, they were making their way up the side of the mountain and were quickly becoming exhausted.
Luc stopped the climb when they had come to a large flat area midway up the mountainside from which they could hike no farther. In front of them lay an almost vertical rock wall that stretched up five hundred feet or more to the next place on the mountain that could be easily climbed.
As they stood in the open area, the wind began to kick up. Most of it seemed to be coming from a cold stream of air that flowed down from higher up on the mountain, falling straight down the vertical face of the mountain then sweeping across the open area. Luc was relieved to feel the cold air as it told him they must be moving out of the valley.
The wind speed was continuing to increase as nightfall was imminent, and everyone was beginning to complain of the cold. He didn’t blame them. It didn’t take long for him to realize they needed to find shelter.
Luc began searching around the perimeter of the open area for some type of shelter. While at the bottom of the vertical wall, he found several wide fissures that looked like they had been created when part of mountain had split away eons ago. He found one that looked like it might make a good windbreak.
When he had led them into the fissure, the icy cold air that came down from higher up on the mountain almost disappeared. Luc noticed that Kate and Christie were no longer shivering. He guessed that Kelly had been kept warm by having been up against his chest as he climbed the mountainside.
“Where do you think we are?” asked Kate.
“I figure we must be on the very edge of the valley. I’m pretty sure the rift must be on the other side of this mountain.”
Luc pulled out the binoculars and walked back out of the fissure with Kate following him. The two of them stood close together as he gazed through the binoculars at the five hundred foot vertical face.
Luc thought the climb up the mountain face would be within his skill level as there were a multitude of handholds and natural ledges on which to grab and step. As far as the others were concerned, there was no way they could climb it. This climb was for him alone, he knew.
He put his arm around Kate and kissed her. “I’m going to go back in the windbreak and put a warm sweatshirt on and eat an energy bar. After that, I’m going to do some climbing.”
“Luc, it’s straight up and there are no ropes. Don’t you think it’s too risky?” Kate asked.
He smiled at her. “Tell me one thing about this whole rescue that hasn’t been risky.”
“Yeah,” she said looking down at the ground and biting her lip. He held her hand tightly and the two of them walked back into the fissure and joined the others.
Chapter 27
Luc opened his backpack and pulled out his extra sweatshirt and put it on. He then made sure the r
est of his climbing gear, food, and the satellite phone were in the backpack. He didn’t want any surprises on his climb up to the top. He grabbed an energy bar.
He moved over to Chuck and sat down on the dirt floor, leaning against the rock wall, and began to eat. Everyone was deathly quiet, even the children. It was a strange mood that had suddenly overtaken them, he thought.
Kate turned to Luc. “Who are you going to try and call if the satellite phone works?”
“Search and Rescue or Manatuk Airport, I’m not sure.”
He pulled out the satellite phone and looked at it. “It appears to belong to someone named Scott Miller,” he said.
“Let me see that,” Kate said, taking the phone out of his hand. She looked at the label and her face lit up. “I know this person. He flies the large choppers for Northern Energies.”
“You think he could be the pilot Victor used?”
“I hope so. I’ve known him for years. He’s a very good friend. If he’s the pilot of the other helicopter, we can trust him. He couldn’t have known what Victor was up to or he wouldn’t have flown him anywhere.”
“Okay. I’ll try the helicopter first,” Luc said, taking the phone from Kate and putting it his backpack.
After he finished eating, he drank the other half of a bottle of water he had been saving. He stood up and put on his backpack. He could tell by the look on everyone’s faces that they were worried.
“I’ve climbed rock faces harder than this one. I’ll be fine,” he said as he looked at his watch. “It’s time.”
He walked out of the fissure as the others followed him out onto the windy mountainside and went over to the spot he had chosen to start the climb.
He stood at the base of the rock wall and looked up its five hundred foot vertical rise. One thing’s for sure, he thought, nobody could say it wasn’t straight up.
He turned to face the others. “It might take me several hours to get to the top and make the call. If you don’t see a helicopter within the next three hours, it’s because the satellite phone didn’t work.”
“What will you do if it doesn’t work?” Kate asked.
“I’m pretty sure the rift lies on the other side of this mountain. I’ll just start hiking toward the village campground until the satellite phone works or until I run into Yudi’s camp.”
Kate reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Be careful,” she said then kissed him again.
It felt good to have her arms around him just before the climb. It was the best type of encouragement, he thought. He pulled away and smiled at her. “I’m always careful. It’s part of the training,” he said.
He squatted down and hugged both Stuart and Kelly. “I’ll see you two in a little while,” he said then turned back to face the rock wall.
He reached up to the first handhold and put the tip of his boot on a narrow ledge then pulled himself up. He found the next handhold and ledge and did the same again. He repeated the process over and over again, as he slowly worked his way up the rocky face.
In the beginning, finding good handholds and places to rest for a moment was challenging, but after the first hundred feet or so, it got easier.
He climbed fast as he worked his way up the next several hundred feet. Free climbing had been his favorite hobby for over twenty years and at that moment, he was damn glad it had been.
He began to tire when he estimated he was about fifty feet from the top and decided he would rest for a few minutes before finishing the climb.
He stopped in an area with a wide ledge and stood facing the mountain with his hands resting in a crack as he caught his breath. He tried to relax and let the muscles in his arms and legs rest. After a few minutes, he decided to continue.
Looking up, he estimated he was only a few minutes from the top when the rock to his left exploded. A stream of rocky fragments flew into the left side of his face. Two seconds later, he heard the echoes of a rifle shot.
There was no doubt in his mind it was Victor. His only chance was to climb the last fifty feet as fast as he could and hope that Victor wasn’t an expert marksman.
He started climbing, grabbing each crack or ledge as quickly as he could, pulling himself up to the next one. The rock exploded to the left of him again, this time closer.
He must be getting the scope dialed in, Luc thought, as he climbed for his life.
He had every crack and ledge he would use planned out in advance and was almost at the top. His mind raced. If Victor was good with a scope, the next shot would probably kill him. As that thought went through his mind, the rock exploded to the right of him twelve inches away.
He climbed the last few feet as fast as he could and was at the very top of the rock face. He began to pull himself over as a white-hot stab of pain seared through his side. He knew he’d been hit as he heard the rifle shot echoing around him.
He did his best to ignore the pain as he pulled himself over the top and crawled away from the edge in an attempt to get out of the line of fire. He stopped and lay on his stomach as his side burned white-hot and said a prayer that God might spare him long enough to get help for the others.
He held his head low, waiting for more shots. After several minutes of silence, he figured he was out of Victor’s line of sight. Thank God for that, he thought.
He was afraid to look at his side, but he knew he had to. He rolled over and reached down, pulling up his sweatshirt. There was blood all over his right side.
He took the other side of his shirt and wiped it over the wound and felt a massive sense of relief when he realized he had only been grazed.
He pulled off his backpack and searched inside of it for a small first aid kit he had brought. He pulled it out and opened the top.
He removed and folded up several layers of gauze and placed it over the wound. He then pulled out a length of adhesive tape, and using his teeth, tore it into three pieces. He taped the gauze securely over the wound.
As he lay there, he realized it was cold enough that he needed additional clothing. He pulled out the rest of his cold-weather climbing clothes from the backpack and slipped them on. He then tucked away the first aid kit in the backpack and zipped it up.
He lay back and began to rest. Despite the fact that it didn’t appear to be a deep wound, it still burned like hell.
He rested for several minutes then stood up and began hiking up a slope that looked like it might take him to the top of the mountain.
After another hour of hiking, he finally reached the summit. He stood there for a moment, looking out over the cloud cover. The sun had already gone down and he knew it wouldn’t be long before it was completely dark.
He pulled out the satellite phone and extended the antenna. He pushed the small On button on top of the phone and waited. After several seconds, the LCD screen displayed:
Registered.
He felt his heart began to race. He quickly tried several buttons until the phone displayed a list of preprogrammed numbers. He began to scroll through the numbers until he found one labeled Helicopter-S. Miller.
He pushed the call button and waited. After several rings, a man answered.
“Hello,” the voice on the other end said.
“Is this Scott Miller?”
“Sure is. Who’s this?”
“My name is Luc Moon. Kate McGrew gave me your name and said you might be part of a team searching for a downed Northern Energies helicopter.”
“Actually I flew a search team in yesterday, and I’m waiting for them on site.”
“Kate and I are members of another team that has located the survivors. We’re in need of an immediate pickup and medical attention.”
“You say you found survivors?”
“Affirmative,” Luc said.
“May I speak to Kate McGrew?”
“She’s with the survivors. I had to climb up on a mountaintop to get a connection with a satellite.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yes, but
it’s getting quite cold at their location. There is a chance for hypothermia if we don’t get them picked up soon.”
“What about the pilot?”
“Marcus died. He was killed by a wild animal. I’m sorry.”
“Oh no. Oh God.” After a short pause, the pilot said, “I dropped off a man named Victor with two other guys who also went in to try and locate the survivors. Did you see them?”
Luc quickly thought about the answer he was going to give. The wrong one could shut him down right then.
“We met them right before we were attacked by wolves last night. Victor and his men are currently missing. There are roving packs of wolves in the valley that have been attacking us on and off us for the last several days. We’re out of ammo.”
There was silence on the other end and Luc began to have a terrible feeling. What if Miller was in on Victor’s plan?
“Of course, I can help. I’m starting the engines as we speak.”
Now came the tough part, Luc thought. “I’m not sure how to direct you to my position,” he said.
“Don’t worry. The phone you’re calling from is sending me real-time GPS updates. I already have your location. Just stay where you are. My ETA is approximately ten minutes. Do you have a flashlight you can shine up at me when I get near you?”
“Yes,” Luc said.
“Is there an open area large enough to land the chopper?”
“Yes.”
“I’m getting ready to lift off now. Gotta focus on that. See you in ten.”
Miller ended the call.
Luc suddenly felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. He pulled the flashlight out of his backpack and waited.
Soon, he saw the navigation lights of the helicopter and then heard the sound of its engine and blades. He turned on his flashlight and began waving it back and forth at the helicopter.
The helicopter’s landing lights came on and lit up the area around him as it slowed and began to hover overhead. It gradually began to descend and gently touched down a short distance from him.
